Mumbai, India - This private tour starts with a driving tour of the city where you have short stops at iconic and local sites such as the Gateway of India, Chowpatty Beach and the Hanging Gardens. You also visit the Gandhi Museum and the Prince of Wales Museum which houses typical art from India.

After meeting your guide you start your tour of Mumbai at the Gateway of India, one of the countries most prized possessions. This huge monument is located on the waterfront in South Mumbai and it greets visitors as a reminder to the imperial bygone era of the city. Passing through the gate brings you from the waterfront into the city.

You continue driving along the Marine Drive and pass the historic Victoria Railway Station which is an UNESCO World Heritage Site on your way to the Crawford Market. This market is one of the most popular shopping areas of the city. This large indoor market was built in the style of Norman and Gothic architecture. At a height of 50 feet above the ground is a porthole awning, which brings sunlight into the market.

Next up is Chowpatty Beach which is Mumbai's most famous beach. During the day, it is a hangout of the happily unemployed who snooze under the shade of its miniature trees. But in the evening the atmosphere is more like a carnival with kids screaming on Ferris wheels or taking pony rides, wayside astrologers making a quick buck, monkey shows, and even the odd self-styled gymnast who will demonstrate amazing yogic postures for a small fee.

You will enjoy a break from the hectic city as you see the Hanging Garden. Known as the Ferozeshah Mehta Gardens, these perfectly manicured terraced gardens sit on the slopes of the Malabar Hill, just opposite the Kamala Nehru Park.

Next you see a feature unique to Mumbai, called the Dhobi Ghat. These traditional outdoor laundrymen, collect dirty linens, wash them, and return them neatly pressed to residents doorsteps, all for a mere pittance. The laundries consist of row upon row of concrete wash pens, each fitted with its own flogging stone. The clothes are soaked in sudsy water, thrashed on the flogging stones, then tossed into huge vats of boiling starch and hung out to dry. Next they are ironed and piled into neat bundles. The most famous of these Dhobi Ghats is at Saat Rasta, where almost two hundred dhobis and their families work together in what has always been an occupation handed down family lines.

Later you visit Mani Bhavan which is a simple old-style, two storied building in Mumbai. Whenever Mahatma Gandhiji, the Father of the Nation, was in Mumbai between 1917 to 1934, he stayed here. Also known as the Gandhi Museum, it is now converted into a museum and research center. Mahatma Gandhi started various struggle movements like Non-Cooperation, Satyagraha, Swadeshi, Khadi and Khilafat while residing here.

The last stop today is at the Prince of Wales Museum (known now as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya of Mumbai). The foundation stone was laid in 1905 by George V, the Prince of Wales. Completion of the beauitul building was not until 1914 but then it was used as a military hospital during World War I. Then in 1923 it was inaugurated by Lady Lloyd as a full-fledged museum. The Museum has a collection of various forms of art from India and beyond.

At the end of the tour you are brought back to the cruise pier.

Mobility: Folding wheelchair OK, some sites may be inaccessible

If you cannot find what you are looking for, our Mumbai tours and Mumbai Shore Excursions can also be customized to fit your needs. If you have a larger group, we can offer you a private Mumbai tour using a mid-size bus or full size coach. Please contact us with any questions or to receive a customized quote.